Unfinished Business
by Zille
Summary: SPOILERS! Begins where HBP left off. Ginny was not satisfied with the way things turned out. She wanted to understand, and she wanted to have her say. HG
1. Ginny's Decision

Unfinished Business

Pairing: H/G  
Rating: (just pretending like I get the new system) uh… T. Ok I admit it, I have no clue what that means. Whatever. I guess I'm safe whichever way; not much stuff going on, besides what's in the book…  
Summary: Ginny is not satisfied with Harry's excuse for ditching her, and feels she has stuff to tell him too.  
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything, anything and all things inside this fic!  
Warning: Continues where HBP finished, so SPOILERS!

Yes, here we have another post-HBP fic picking up from the end, clearing out H/G stuff… clearly it was very confusing for us, and we need to make our own sense of it… H/G fans around the world are now baffled, as the thing they wished for the most suddenly happened, without warning, only to… end. Huh, the H/G nation says. This is my own personal sensemaking, making a suggestion to what could have happened to clear stuff up… Because I love JK and all, but this was, I'm sure unintentionally, quite cruel to the fans. I dunno what'll happen in the 7th book, in a way I never want to because then it will be over… but I hope H/G was more than this. They deserve as much. End of rant.

This fic begins, as I have said, where the story left off.

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And that was when Harry Potter walked away. It seemed unjust, cruel, unfair, thought Ginny, even though on her face was plastered an understanding smile. He was going to do this alone. And yet... as she looked at him, now left by the Minister and joined by Ron and Hermione, maybe he would not be. He would have them. But not her. He was afraid she would get hurt, he said. He was not afraid they would hurt Ron, or hurt Hermione? Perhaps they were already so deeply involved that it wouldn't matter whether he ditched them now... Ginny did not honestly believe she could be too important for him. That couldn't be the reason. Ron and Hermione were, she had always known, far more important to Harry than she would ever be, though she had honestly believed in these last few weeks that she was close behind on the scale of affection. Apparently she wasn't important enough for Harry to be wasting his emotions on, she thought angrily, he wanted her to forget about him and move on to make it easier for himself, not her. He never loved her, otherwise he wouldn't have cared about the odds, he would have stayed with her no matter what...

Somehow she really wanted to believe that. She thought it would be easier if she could just hate him. Not love him. This was not the way it was supposed to go, she thought sadly. Of course Dumbledore shouldn't have died... Bill shouldn't have been bitten, though Ginny had to admit it did bring out the nicer side of Fleur. And Harry... Harry shouldn't have had to lose any more people, shouldn't have to fight this war on his own, shouldn't... have to be alone.

Ginny turned her gaze away from the threesome-that-did-not-include-her-and-never-fully-had-because-duh-threesome, and allowed herself five minutes of contemplation. They would be leaving in less than an hour, leaving Hogwarts, and possibly never come back. Would Harry come back, even if it was possible? Somehow, she thought he would not.

She had made up her mind. Setting her gaze once more upon the three a little while away, she knew what she had to do. It was all or nothing.

She went over.

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To be continued! Please take the time to review, to tell me what you think so far.


	2. Hard to Let Go

Unfinished Business

Thanks so much for your reviews! I was happy to hear your thoughts of the story and the Harry/Ginny playout… HiddenFlame42, you are so right about the Spiderman thing! That is a good comparison… that scene annoyed me almost as much as the one in HBP! deLusional, RanmasAngel and 5CANDALOUS, I agree so much… it was unfair to the fandom:P I hope you are right, HeatherGranger13 and Bill, I really hope they will somehow get together again… And Firey Spiret, Darke, Moonlitesadness, Artee and Sporky, and unsound mirth, thank you:) I think this will become a three-part story, and this being the second, there will be one more after this… This chapter is Harry's pov.

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Harry smiled. One last happy day, with Ron and Hermione. And... he didn't want to think about it, but Ginny would be there too. He didn't want to see her. It would be too hard. He had said his goodbyes today, to everyone he cared about - Dumbledore, Ginny, and he had thought Ron and Hermione as well, but them wanting to come with him had complicated the whole distancing himself from the world plan... He knew what a risk they would be at, but he also knew there was no keeping them back, and he could not help to feel a little grateful. Harry knew, in his heart, that if Ginny had known of his plans she would have offered to come, too. He could not let that happen. He remembered last year, when they were all going into the Department of Mysteries... he had wanted to leave them all behind, go alone... he did not want them to get hurt, fighting his fight, and he also did not want to worry about them. Somehow, though, it was different with Ron, and Hermione too. He would worry about them, yes. He would plead with them not to come, fearing for their lives, yes. He would lament about how they didn't have to be involved, how they could live out their lives in semi-peace in Siberia while the war raged elsewhere... he also knew how pointless that would be. He doubted it would work on Ginny either, but this was different. It just was. Ron and Hermione were his friends. He loved them above all else. He knew he would hate himself if anything happened to them... but he did not feel responsible for them. He knew perfectly well that Ginny could take care of herself but... he could not, would not let her come. He couldn't explain why, and he thought it better to try pushing it out of his mind… to forget...

He stole a glance in her direction - and noticed with horror that she was approaching. He didn't know if he could deal with her. He couldn't turn her away, if she offered to come... But no, he couldn't let her come, he needed to know she was safe...

Ginny reached the threesome, and, looking Harry straight in the eye, said, "Can I have a word?"

It sounded so innocent, but... Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, hoping for some support, but they quickly looked away and pretended to be interested in something else. Ron started talking about the weather, and Hermione looked immensely interested, as he described to her the interesting patterns the shadows of the leaves on the tree made on the ground.

"Er, okay," Harry said, dreading the worst. Maybe she didn't come to join him. Maybe she now hated him for dumping her, maybe she would Bat-Bogey hex him!

"In private," Ginny added.

Harry's panic rose as he followed her down the path, away from Dumbledore's tomb and into the castle. Ginny took him up winding stairs and through corridors, and Harry wondered wildly what on earth she was planning to do to him, so far away from everybody... they would not be able to hear him scream... He fleetingly wondered if she was a Death Eater in disguise. Somehow he thought not, but he wanted to be absolutely safe.

"Ginny," he said, stopping. She stopped, too, and turned around to face him. He racked his brain, trying to find a suitable question, something only she would know... they had never really discussed safety questions here at Hogwarts. They had thought themselves safe. Fools, we were, Harry thought.

"Uh... what does your mother like to be called by your father when they are alone?" he asked, and felt himself go scarlet. This was the only question he could think of, but somehow, after everything that had happened between them, it seemed inappropriate.

Ginny's eyes widened, and she blushed quite a bit herself, but after a while she seemed to understand where he was going with it. "Oh," she said, "er... Mollywobbles," she whispered. Then she continued climbing the stairs, but after a while he heard her say quietly, "Harry?"

"Yes?" he replied.

She continued, not without amusement, "Who does Tonks fancy?"

"Oh come on Ginny, that was a very obvious question, we saw her and Lupin outsi-"

Harry could almost feel Ginny rolling her eyes. "Well," she said, interrupting, "I think we've established our true identities. Now, are you not going to ask me where we're going?"

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Good point."

They continued in silence, until at last, in a corridor Harry very rarely went to, as it was nowhere near any of his classrooms, Ginny stopped. "Follow me," she said, and with a quick grin at Harry, she had vanished - straight into the wall. Harry had not seen anything like this besides from Platform 9 3/4, and he wondered what it was doing there. What it was concealing... Well, right now it's concealing Ginny, Harry thought, and in a moment, me. He took a deep break, and stepped into the wall.

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Continuation will follow shortly. Please r/r 


	3. The Most Powerful Weapon

Unfinished Business

The final chapter! Thanks for reading. And my apologies for the short chapters – this is short too I'm afraid. But all I really wanted was just to provide a more shipper-friendly ending to the HBP… we really need it, after the real one. I hope you enjoy this chapter, regardless of length, and I hope you'll keep believing in H/G… no matter what the books say. :)

HeatherGranger13, shadowdragonblade, RanmasAngel, HoneyP, BexyLou, THEJUDGE.JUDGEJUDY1070, Mei fa-chan, 5CANDALOUS, IamSiriusgrl, Kates Master (I hope they're not really! Imagine if she gets the hate mail, and decides to kill Ginny off just to spite the fans…….. uh-oh), Elphaba Thropp, sexyredhead, Animelover231, I-love-Inuyasha1, Hazel Maraa, theQuibbleringQuibblerer (wow say that three times fast!), dweem-angel, meaganu-chan, Artee and Sporky, Rachel, SaSush33 (What? Ohmigod I so did not think of that! That is such a good theory – imagine it, if Harry was a Horcrux! How horrible would that be, if he destroyed everything then realised to completely get rid of Voldemort he would have to kill himself! I don't want to think about it), RonLuver2005, HiddenFlame42 (I know. Ew.), Firey Spiret (hehe thank you), fernnu, fritz42, harryp123, and vt… thank you so much for your reviews, I really appreciate them, and I'm so glad to know I'm not the only anxious H/G fan out there!

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Harry blinked. It seemed like a normal classroom, except there were no tables and chairs, just a couch and some bookcases, and some abandoned objects in the corner, that looked to be broken. The room was fairly well lit, with the sunlight streaming in from two massive windows. Ginny smiled at him, and plopped down onto the sofa. "Well?" she said, inviting him to join her.

"Ginny, this is..." he was searching for the right words. Nice? Cosy? Unexpected? "Why not just use the Room of Requirement if you want to talk somewhere privately?"

"Well," Ginny said, "The Room of Requirement has been pretty overcrowded these days, hasn't it? Besides, I like it here. I usually come here to think or do my homework, I don't think anybody else knows about it."

"But how did you-" Harry started, but again he was interrupted by Ginny.

"Look Harry, it's a long story that would bore you. We have about, " she checked her watch, "thirty-five minutes left in this place, and we might never get to go back here, so I just wanted to show you something... new."

Harry nodded, and sat down. "I still don't understand why we had to come all the way up here to-"

"Harry," she said.

"Ginny, I was talking," he said, slightly annoyed at being interrupted all the time.

"Harry," she repeated.

"No, I was saying something, and you-"

"Harry!" Ginny practically screamed, and Harry fell silent at once.

"Jeez Ginny, I was just saying..." he started.

"Harry listen," Ginny said, "I think you've done your talking already." At Harry's shameful look she continued. "I've thought over what you said… for like, five minutes… and now I want to talk to you. Freely. Without interruptions, and without you walking away and being cornered by other people." she took a deep breath. "Yeah, well, I thought about what you said and... well, I can't really say I agree, cause that would be lying and you'd be able to tell, but I think maybe, I understand. You don't want people to get hurt. You have to do this alone."

"Well," said Harry quietly, hardly daring to break in, "Ron and Hermione are..."

"Coming with you? I thought as much. I'll never understand you Harry, I don't get if you were trying to shut me off or protect me..."

"Both, actually," Harry said, looking into her eyes. "It's true that I wanted to shut you out. I didn't want you to be a part of this. But it's because I… I care about you. I mean, you are not like Ron and Hermione..."

"Excuse me?"

"I just mean, you are different, to me, you mean... well, you can't honestly be surprised that I feel differently for you than for your brother, after the last few weeks?" he said, smiling slightly.

Ginny allowed herself the tiniest of smiles. "That's all good Harry, but I actually have a point I want to reach in my ramblings... Well, I know you want to leave me behind, don't want me as a target for You-Know-Who, but hey! Been there, remember? Two times and counting have I been in mortal peril. And we were not even dating then! Look Harry, I just don't see how us being together would really change anything, definitely not when you are bringing Ron…"

"But he can't know, Ginny!" Harry said heatedly. "We can't be together because… he will know. He always knows. The people I care about… and especially you! If we were together, and Voldemort found out how I… how I felt about you… Ginny don't you understand? If he found out I was in love with you-" he stopped himself, but it was too late.

"Harry," she started quietly.

"So you see," Harry said, a little more forcefully, trying to push away the treacherous thoughts, "I can't risk you getting hurt." he started getting up, and was surprised when Ginny pushed him back down, with a lot of strenght for such a little person.

"No Harry," she said, and Harry was surprised to see tears in her eyes as she continued. "If you really love me, oh you daft git, don't you realise that it doesn't matter if we're together or not! He will know!" At Harry's stricken look she quickly added, more quietly, "But you don't seem to realise that… I know all this. I realise the danger. I went into the Department of Mysteries, not because I had to, or because it was the right thing to do, but because of you! I… I love you too Harry, and I made my choice! And trying to push me away will not change my emotions, and I sincerely hope it will not change yours – no matter the risk! I want to do this with you Harry," she finished empathetically. "You said you did not want to come to my funeral, knowing you caused it… but we're at war Harry, and what if something happened, to either of us, and we had lost however much time we could have had together, because of you trying to protect me? How would you feel, then?"

Harry just stared at her, too overcome by what she had just said. She loved him… and he loved her. He had been afraid to admit it to himself, trying to will the feelings to go away, but… now he had acknowledged them… it wasn't too bad. He knew of the danger. But he also knew Ginny was right. And suddenly he remembered Dumbledore, not long ago, telling him… 'the power the Dark Lord knows not' was not some secret weapon. 'Just love,' Dumbledore had said, echoing Harry's own words. Love… and here he was, turning it away.

"Harry…" Ginny started, but this time she was interrupted by Harry's lips crushing down on her own.

"Ginny you're right," Harry said breathlessly, as they pulled away. "I love you, and… by trying to protect you, by pulling you away… I was destroying myself. I need you Ginny. I… I love you."

And then he kissed her again.

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Uhm the end. I hope it was happy! I had some problems finding a suitable ending, but I thought it appropriate to have the curtains close on a kiss. After all, we know what comes next… they talk, they fight, they win, they get married and have lots of little Harry and Ginnys. We wish!

Well as I said, I needed to get out stuff after HBP. This is my way. Hope you enjoyed it, and hope it also gave a little hope for Harry/Ginny. How it annoyed me, the way Harry left her, her just accepting it, and him then forgetting about her completely in the end… I hope that wasn't all for the couple. They deserve so much more than a few weeks of underplayed, unexciting and colourless romance. I hope they will have it.

Please r/r if you liked the fic or if you didn't, thoughts on H/G are always appreciated, especially in these stirred and unclear waters o0

And it's… Finished Business! (sorry 'bout the word pun. Just had to put it in somewhere :))

Zille

Everything in this fic property of JK Rowling, all rights reserved.


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